Wyoming Jobless Rate Holds Steady in January

Wyoming's unemployment rate in January was 4.1 percent, unchanged from December of 2017.

In a year-over-year comparison, unemployment in the Cowboy State dropped .6 percent from the January 2017 jobless figure of 4.7 percent.

Unemployment fell in every Wyoming county over that period, with the biggest declines in the state's energy-producing areas. The three biggest energy counties all saw jobless rates drop by over two points between January 2017 and January 2018. Campbell County led the way, dropping from 6.9 percent to 4.6 percent. Sublette County fell from a 6.5 percent unemployment figure to 4.3 percent, and Natrona County unemployment dropped from 7.5 percent to 5.4 percent.

But state Economist David Bullard says the drop in unemployment has to be measured against a statewide decline of 1.5 percent [4,330 people] over the year-long period. He says the overall numbers present a ''mixed picture," representing fewer Wyomingites being out of work, but also a fair number of people moving away or at least giving up looking for a job.